IN a landmark judgment delivered just days before his retirement, the retired Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, leading a nine-judge Bench, brought a long-standing dispute to a conclusion in the Property Owners Association versus State of Maharashtra (2024) case.
The verdict, rendered with an 8:1 majority, has not only put an end to a decades-long legal saga but also set a precedent that could reshape the contours of eminent domain in India.
Eminent domain is a fundamental legal concept that grants a sovereign State the authority to seize private property for public use, even without the consent of the owner, provided that just compensation is offered. This right, grounded in the public interest, enables the government to appropriate individual property for the broader welfare of society.
The clash between property rights and State authority over property was one of the most defining issues in the early years of the Indian republic. As India sought to balance its socialist aspirations with democratic freedoms, the conflict between safeguarding individual property rights and the State’s need to regulate resources for the public good became a point of contention.
